Once a Labrat
by Teh Poof
Summary: The labrat Kadaj has been taken from his lab to be 'rehabilitated', and his caretaker is a young women named Rui, who hopes to help Kadaj slink away from his horrid past.


AU: Hiiii. Yay, my first story submitted here. XD; Well... kind of sort of. Before I contiune on with the story (which I have not done except for a paragraph. And I have no plans for it, so it'll just write itself out. Whoopie.) I want YOU all to review it... And tell me if it is worthy enough to contiune on! o! Btw, Rui.. is sorta kinda my character. Though she's mostly based off of the Pokemon Colleseum Rui. Matt... is a random person, leader of the building she works at. Yay. XD You may now read. x: But just one more thing.

Disclamier: I do not own Final Fantasy 7, or any of them. If I did, Sephiroth would be on the good side. c:

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Rui looked at the room she knew so well, glancing at her friend with disappointment. "Don't worry," Matt assured her. "It's been modified a bit." Nodding in reply, Rui slowly walked into the room, the door shutting behind her. There was a small bed, a chair, and a ceiling light. _It's not much, but it's an improvement. _Rui thought, looking around. She took a step forward on the hard tile floor, flinching as she did so at the loudness of it. It was so quiet, it looked like there wasn't anyone in here. Rui turned, seeing someone- or at least something- behind the chair. She took a step forward, squinting her eyes to focus. It was a boy. About.. 15. She frowned. The poor male was still a kid! She knew it'd be much harder to get to him. Sighing, she came forward. By now, the other had already noticed that she spotted him, and was shaking in fright, and small whimpers were coming from his throat. Her eyes showed a lot of pity for him, but he recognized it none. When she was within maybe a yard of him, the boy took off to the other corner, now flat against it, eyes ditalated. Rui started advancing again, slower, managing to keep a friendly-looking smile on her face despite witnessing his fear.

"Hey." She called softly. He seemed to freeze. "Who are you?" She asked, careful not to sound demanding. She kept walking forward slowly until he made another dash, this time, tripping over his bed and nearly doing a complete flip over it. He called out in pain, and Rui ran over, face becoming pale. "Are you alright!" She asked worriedly. He was curled up, clutching his stomach and eyes shut tight as he whimpered, tears running down his cheeks. Rui's eyes softened from surprised and worried to pity again. She grabbed him around his torso, causing his eyes to open wide, and make him thrash. The caretaker held him close, not letting him go. "Calm down!" She said, though it fell on death ears. _I should've known. He's still- OUCH! _Was he thoughts as he bit down into her arm so hard blood seeped from the wound. Rui held back some tears that were about to explode from her eyes. He released her arm, beginning to shake like a pebble in a whirlwind. He whimpered. Rui knew what it meant. She had won, and he knew it. He felt imprisoned in her grasp.

"P-please..." He said with a pitiful voice, making Rui feel guilt. "L-let m-me go..." "Tell me your name." She responded calmly. "Kadaj..." The boy replied, still shaking, eyes closed. "Kadaj..." Rui repeated, words that felt like ice to the labbie. "Don't be afraid." She cooed, stroking his head. It only seemed to terrify Kadaj. "Wh-what are you g-going t-to do n-now?" He asked, suddenly remembering that you never, ever have the privilege of asking scientists the questions, and he whined, hanging his head and pressing his forehead into her knee as an apology. "What do you mean?" She answered, making Kadaj wonder why she had replied, and even when she did, not have the slightest tinge of annoyance in her voice. "And please stop shaking." Rui begged. He did instantly, tensing up. "Shhhhh..." She cooed. Kadaj tried to register it in his mind. He's never heard something quite like that... but it was so soothing... So soothing that even Kadaj relaxed in her grasp. He took a small gulp before asking, "The n-next experiment?" Rui smiled gently, making Kadaj shake a bit.

"No more experiments," she said. Kadaj was confused, then turned his head away, knowing he'd get a sharp slap for what he was about to say. "You're lying..." He closed his eyes tight and waited for it. But it didn't come. "You may think so," she spoke. "But, I'm telling the truth." Her voice. That was the one thing he couldn't seem to get... it was so different from the other scientists' harsh, demanding voices. It seemed... almost like his own. His eyelids parted, blue eyes looking up at Rui, forgetting about the 'never look a scientist in the eye' rule. She smiled. Her smile was different, too. It seemed... happy. Not mean, or taunting. Happy... and gentle. For a moment, Kadaj cuddled into her. She seemed safe. He felt like she could be trusted. "Did you hurt yourself earlier?" She asked. "Just a bit.. My stomach... ow..." His hands let go of his stomach to hang limply at his sides. "Nothing serious, I'm hoping." Rui said. For a moment, Kadaj didn't know if she wanted to be answered, but did so anyway.

"No..." He closed his eyes again, just waiting for a slap to come. But instead, her hand rested on his cheek. For a couple of moments, he shook, wondering what she was going to do with him. The hand circled his cheek, feeling warm and soft. He soon calmed, leaning his head into her hand slightly. She could be trusted. He was almost sure of it. But doubt hung in his heart. Something would be done about it... If a scientist was nice to a labrat, they would do something terrible to the said scientist. After all, if a scientist were to be nice to a labrat, they'd grow close. If they grew close, the experiments would become less dangerous until they ended all-together. Kadaj looked into her eyes, sadness showing in his own. "Why are you being nice...?" He asked shyly. Rui tilted her head up for a moment at the ceiling as though she ignored him when she was only thinking. Kadaj hung his head. "Sorry..." He said, quietly. "Well... I... I'm not a mean person." Was all she could come up with. Kadaj looked up, baffled. "All scientists are mean." Realising his mistake, he slapped his hands over his mouth, looking at Rui, terrified. She only smiled that gentle smile. "I'm not a scientist." His heart raced. "Why are you here then? They'll take you and..." She put a finger on his lips gently, shushing him immediately.

"You're not where you think you are, Kadaj..." She said. He knew it. It was all too good to be true- and it was. He was dreaming. He asked, to confirm his fears. "I'm sleeping, aren't I?" She smiled again. "No. You've been taken here... it's a rehabilitation center for people like you with bad experiences." Kadaj rested his head on her arm, feeling something wet against his cheek. The blood. He whined in apology. "That's alright." She said, taking a long rag from her pocket and wrapping it around her arm. She slowly got up, and Kadaj quickly followed. She sat down on the bed, and so did Kadaj. He leaned against her, and she allowed him to do so. His stomach growled. Rui stared. It wasn't until now she realized how terribly thin he was. "Hold on." She slowly shifted away, allowing Kadaj to adjust himself so he wouldn't fall right over. "I'll be right back." She said, and quickly ran out the door. Kadaj nodded weakly, though he doubted she'd be back. She hurried to the food closet and got some chicken, corn, and a baked potato. Satisfied with her choices, she got some orange juice and went back. She opened the door, to see Kadaj sitting on the bed, staring blankly at the door. He put up a hand and waved in greeted. Rui chuckled. It reminded her that she hasn't introduced herself yet.

"I'm Rui." She came over with the hot food, it's scents going into Kadaj's nostrils, making him drool a bit. He looked up. "Is it yours or mine?" It was quite obvious Kadaj was not used to such a terrific meal. "Yours," Rui said, noting she forgot to get food for herself. She sighed. _I'm forgetting too many things. _He slowly took the plastic fork and knife, staring at the food with wary eyes as though it was about to eat him instead of the other way around. "Something wrong?" He looked up at her. "Is it... tainted?" He asked. Rui tilted her head, trying to figure out what he meant. It hit her fast. "Oh! No, it's not contaminated. Like I said, no more experiments... Nothing," she replied. Relieved, Kadaj downed the food. "Poor Kadaj..." The red-head sighed, making Kadaj pause and look up in confusion. "Keep eating," she said after noticing he stopped. Instantly, almost hurriedly he began eating again. Rui sighed once more. She was really trying not to make Kadaj feel that he should be ordered in such ways. Once he had finished, Rui took his plates and set them aside to be taken later, and then scootched towards him. Kadaj eyed her wearily, scootching away himself

"Kadaj..." She said in a pleading voice. "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." Kadaj looked into her eyes, still scared. He looked down to avoid her gaze. Rui got up, causing Kadaj to scramble upwards and back off quickly. Rui advanced ever so slowly, moving a bit towards the left so that Kadaj would scuttle towards his left, where there was a corner. His eyes never left her, until they glanced over to see the wall when his arm hit the corner. He tried to dash away, but Rui jumped in the way, making him stumble backwards as he prepared to dash for the other corner- only to be blocked off by her arm. Captured, Kadaj, slid down, tears falling down his cheeks again. "If you won't hurt me, why do you corner me?" He whimpered, shiny eyes looking up at her. She kneeled down to his level. "I can't have you running from me Kadaj." She reached out to pull Kadaj away from the corner and next to her, but the boy simply wouldn't budge. "I'm sorry for scaring you, I really am." She managed to rip him away from the wall, causing him to thrash. Once again, she grasped Kadaj firmly, this time commanding, "No!" Kadaj froze instantly, eyes wide in terror, with tears running down his cheeks. Rui loosened her grasp, one hand coming up to run it through his hair, stroking his head.

The silver-haired boy shook, slowly calming as she did her comforting 'shh' sound. Could she really be trusted? He remembered a couple of times when he 'trusted' scientists. That was the part they took advantage over him, and did their most dangerous, harmful experiments. It was absolutely devastating for Kadaj. He trembled at the thought of her doing the same. But as noted before, she was different in an essence. She had that peaceful smile, not the taunting ones scientists held on their expressions. And she did that 'Shhh' instead of 'Be quiet' or the usual 'Shut up!'. _If she's offering comfort, _he thought, _then I guess I'll just have to take it while it lasts. _That being stated, Kadaj pushed his head into her hand, body relaxing completely. Rui smiled wider, not ceasing her stroking. "There... see? I'm not bad." She said in a gentle voice. Kadaj nodded. "Yeah..." He said, sounding convincing, but actually not fully believing it. He supposed he'd have to fake his trust to really see if Rui could be trusted. It was a risk he had to take. She stroked him and stroked him until he felt his eyes get heavy, causing fear to strike his heart. It'd be suicide to fall asleep in the arms of a scientist. "Bed..." Kadaj whispered meekly. Rui understood, sliding both arms under him- one under his legs, and one supporting his back- and carried him to the bed and laid him down after kicking the blanket aside. Once in a comfortable position, Rui took the blanket and put it over him. She wondered why he weighed so little, guessing and frowning that he probably was not fed a lot.

The male was determined to stay awake until she left: Who knows what she might do as he slept? But he soon realised that she could just come back and, and forced himself to go to sleep. Rui walked towards the door, turning off the light and opening it while saying, "Good night, Kadaj," and closing the door as she left.

In the middle of the night, the fire alarm suddenly went off, giving Rui nearly a heart attack (and scaring Kadaj half to death). Rui rubbed her eyes, throwing off the covers of the blanket and going to the window, of which a red light emitted from behind the curtains. She pulled the curtains back, widening her eyes. There was a raging fire out front. Quickly, she took her purse and stuffed some personal belongings into it (she never really considered the stuff in her room 'hers' anyways,) and quickly dashed out the door, running for Kadaj's room. Just then, she collied into another person. They both groaned, but quickly got to their feet. "Rui, we've got to get out of here!" "Matt! I gotta get Kadaj!" With a nod of agreement, they both headed towards Kadaj's room. When Rui opened the door, it wasn't what she was hoping for. Half the room was up in flames, and she was thankful the ground wasn't carpeted. Kadaj was in the corner to her right, and he was more afraid than ever. Fire. Fire was the one thing that he probably feared more than scientists, experiments, and the like.

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I TRIED a cliff hanger.. I think... I failed. D; Yay. Well, uhm... now that you've read this, post your review. Tell me if it's good enough to go on. x: Kthnx.


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